MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dumping causes issues with blight all over the city and Mayor Strickland has made it one of his priorities to clean.
Neighbors said an abandoned lot by the old Southern Laminating Company on Clancy Street used to have a lot of dumping, but the city got it cleared about a month ago.
Unfortunately, the dumping has just moved across the street since then.
John Williams said he was tired of people turning next to his house and leaving furniture and trash behind.
“They leave mattresses, tires and any kind things that they can,” Williams said.
He said the old factory has been closed since the 1990s.
“It’s a waste hazard,” Williams said.
He also said he found something there once that he can’t forget.
“We went around there and smelled the bad odor. They dumped dogs in a garbage bag,” Williams said.
He said he did not report it for fear of retaliation.
“We can’t ever catch them,” neighbor Morcey Alexander said. “They need to put some cameras or something to catch them.”
Less than two miles away, city crews are working on the dumping problem.
WREG cameras spotted crews on Ioka Avenue last Thursday as they loaded a dresser and other big items into a dump truck.
Neighbors on Clancy hoped they’d next, or, better yet, that the blighted buildings would be “torn down and destroyed.”
The Shelby County Assessor lists PBT June Property Trust as the owner of the abandoned land.
The company has a Nevada address. We were unable to reach them.